Panzer-Grenadier-Division Grossdeutschland

The Panzer-Grenadier-Division Grossdeutschland was an elite combat unit of the German Heer that was active from 19 May 1942 to 25 April 1945 during World War II. The unit started out as a ceremonial guard unit in the 1920s, but, by the late 1930s, it had grown into a regiment of the combined Wehrmacht German armed forces. In 1942, the regiment would be expanded to become a division, and it became a panzergrenadier division. The division fought in Case Blue, at the Third Battle of Kharkov, at the Battle of Kursk, in the Baltic Offensive, and at the Battle of Memel. The division was nearly destroyed in the battles at the Memel bridgehead, and it was reduced to just 4,000 men after the battle. By 25 April 1945, the division had been destroyed in the battles around Pillau.